It looks like we will have a number of heavyweight contenders for the next presidential election, from Hillary Clinton to Russ Feingold to, possibly, Wesley Clark and John Edwards, but none of these are as exciting as Mark Warner. Mark Warner, alone among the likely prospects, offers the unbeatable combination of an appealing, optimistic, likeable (indeed charismatic) personality, along with an inspiring advocate for policies that appeal to the swing voters who ultimately decide elections.
Regardless of our differences on a host of issues, we're all united on one matter - the importance of winning back the White House in 2008 (and the Congress this year). While it's possible that anyone we nominate will sail to election because of the mess Bush and his pals created, we can never afford to assume that it will be a cakewalk. We know and we've seen that the Republicans will go to just about any length to keep their hold on power. That's why it is critical that we nominate the man or woman who has the best chance of winning in 2008. If Florida 2000 taught us anything, it's that they can steal the election if it's at all close.
Why Mark Warner? This man has proven that he can win in a red state and, more importantly, that he can move his policies forward after the election even in a state where the Republicans controlled the legislature. He was not afraid to tackle the big issues as he showed with his tough and courageous fight to begin solving the state's transportation nightmare. And this is key - he did it by reaching out to moderate Republicans while not compromising on his central goal. While he didn't solve the transportation problem (no one person could in just four years), he began the process and educated the voters to the need for tax increases to pay for the required repairs. And he left office more popular and with greater respect than when he entered the Governor's Mansion. Now that's an accomplishment.
Governor Warner has been blessed with tremendous people skills. In our television age, this is an asset that should not be discounted. I would argue that, in many ways, he's got greater personal political charm than that master of charm Bill Clinton. While there was always a small whiff of phoniness (or at least the fast talking used car salesman) with Clinton, Warner comes across as a very down to earth and earnest man. He is the kind of man who never seems like he's selling you anything even when you're buying his new set of encyclopedias (I suppose I'm showing my age with that example). That's a precious gift in politics.
Warner is a uniter not a divider. I know that's an overused cliche but after the past five divisive years, I'm convinced the American voters will flock to a candidate who they believe will end the ugly partisanship and make us feel positive again about our country and about each other.
He recently demonstrated this again in his comments on that most divisive of issues, Iraq. Rather than play the zero sum game of blaming or defending what Bush did - he chose to focus on the future and what we need to do to move forward. Some have criticised him for taking a relatively hawkish position on Iraq but I think that misreads his focus. In his recent speech to the Asia Society, Warner laid out his view:
This Democrat doesn't think we need to re-fight how we got into [the Iraq war]. I think we need to focus more on how to finish it. . . . To set an arbitrary deadline or specific date is not appropriate. . . . It is incumbent on the president to set milestones for what he believes will be the conclusion.
Warner realizes that there's nothing to be gained politically by refighting the old questions once again. If you believe Bush was a fool (or far worse) for getting us into Iraq, then you're going to be voting for the Democrat anyway most likely. But if you're not sure about Iraq and you're tired of the angry and ugly rhetoric, then you'll be attracted to a candidate who is focused on getting us out of the mess and not on trying to settle political scores. It's win-win politics.
The win-win philosophy of Governor Warner was best expressed in his widely reported "Why I'm a Democrat" speech. It deserves rereading as we look forward to 2008.
[I]if you're going to offer people economic hope, you can't spend all your time talking about the same old social issues that have divided us for too long.
You can't move forward if every discussion is about abortion and guns.
Those are all important issues, and we can't ignore them. But they create passion that often distracts us from more fundamental issues.
And let me say it again - if we can do it in Virginia, we can do it for America.
We have to do it for America. Because America deserves better than failed fiscal policy. America deserves better than an economy that leaves millions of people and whole communities behind.
And Democrats offer better. We offer optimism, and we offer hope for the future. . . .
I am a Democrat because the greatest and most noble political experiments of our time had their birth in our party.
I am a Democrat because the New Deal literally saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
I am a Democrat because a generation after a Democratic president started the Peace Corps, you can still find faded photographs of John F. Kennedy on the walls of homes from South Africa to South America.
I am a Democrat because fighting for working men and women is always the right fight.
I am a Democrat because our party led the struggle for civil rights and because we recognize that discrimination and bigotry are not dead - and that we must continue to seek equal opportunity for all.
I am a Democrat because despite our failures, our missteps, and our excesses - we know that waging a war on poverty does not mean fighting the individuals who are poor.
I am a Democrat because we know that today's battle is about the future versus the past - and it's time to put aside yesterday's battles of us versus them.
I am a Democrat because we know that criticizing success won't create a single job.
And most of all, I am a Democrat because when my three daughters go out into the world to make their lives, I want them to find a world where there's less hopelessness - less selfishness - and less violence.
I want them to find a world where there is more opportunity - more understanding - and more hope.
That is the mission of this party.
That is what we work for.
That is why we get up every morning.
That is why we're here tonight.
And our work is not done.
Mark Warner's optimistic vision and his dynamic political skills will be a potent political force in 2008 - and perhaps for many years afterwards.
